| Colombo Fort Railway Station |
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Platform at Colombo Fort Station |
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| Station statistics | ||
| Coordinates | 6°56'01.40"N 79°51'03.14"E | |
| Lines | Main Line Coastal Line |
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| Connections | Buses, via Central Bus Stand, Pettah | |
| Tracks | 11 | |
| Other information | ||
| Opened | 1899[1] | |
| Electrified | no[2] | |
| Owned by | Sri Lanka Railways | |
| Services | ||
| Terminates at Fort: Udarata Menike-to Badulla Podi Menike-to Badulla Tikiri Menike -to Hatton Senkadagala Menike -to Kandy Yal Devi-Was operated to Kankasanthurei via Jaffna (now only up to Omanthai) Udaya Devi -to Batticaloa Muthu Kumari -to Puttalam Intermediate stop at Fort: Rajarata Rajina -Vavuniya to Matara via Colombo Fort Ruhunu Kumari -Colombo (Maradana) to Matara via Colombo Fort Samudra Devi-Colombo (Maradana) to Galle, via Colombo Fort Galu Kumari -Colombo (Maradana) to Matara, via Colombo Fort Sagarika -Colombo (Maradana) to Galle, via Colombo Fort |
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| Colombo Fort Station, Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend
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Fort Railway Station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central Colombo; it is the terminus of most intercity trains in the country.[3]
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When the railways first opened in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1864, trains terminated at Colombo Terminus Station, a now-retired station near Maradana. The earliest station to be called Fort was a small station, built in 1877 when the Coast Line was built. This original station sat on the site of present-day Secretariat Halt just west of today's Fort Station.[4]
The present Fort Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. The station was built on land reclaimed from the Beira Lake. This project was part of a scheme started in 1906 to reorganise the railway within Colombo, where Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana Station. Fort was added in 1917 to serve the city centre.[4]
Fort Station is in the heart of the city, located next to Colombo Fort and Pettah and close to the meeting points of the A1 and A4 highways. The station provides access to businesses and offices in Colombo Fort, as well as the markets at Pettah.
Fort Station is a couple kilometres away from Maradana Station, the other major rail station in Colombo.
In addition to providing connection between the many trains that serve the station, Fort Station also provides connections to bus services through the Central Bus Stand in Pettah. Colombo Secretariat Station, the city terminus for the Airport Express, is located to the west of the station, with no direct connection.
The station is served from the east by the Main line, which leads to several other major routes in Sri Lanka's railway network. Most of these trains terminate at Fort Station. The station is served to the south-west by the Coastal line, leading to Gale and Matara.
Fort station is also a hub for commuter rail within the Colombo metropolis.
| Preceding station | Sri Lanka Railways[3] | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Yal Devi | Vavuniya | ||
| Udaya Devi | Batticaloa | |||
| Unnamed intercity expresses | Kandy, Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Galle |
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| Terminus | Udarata Menike | Maradana | ||
| Podi Menike | Maradana | |||
| Tikiri Menike | Maradana | |||
| Senkadagala Menike | Maradana | |||
| Terminus | Muthu Kumari | Maradana | ||
| Bambalapitiya | Rajarata Rajina | Maradana | ||
| Bambalapitiya | Ruhunu Kumari | Maradana | ||
| Samudra Devi | Maradana | |||
| Galu Kumari | Maradana | |||
| Sagarika | Maradana | |||
| Slave Island | Commuter Rail | Maradana | ||